I got the idea to start Amazon 16 years ago i came across the fact that web usage was growing
at 2 300 per year and i'd never seen or heard of anything that grew that fast the idea of building
an online bookstore with millions of titles something that simply couldn't exist in the
physical world was very exciting i just turned 30 years old and i've been married for a year
i told my wife mackenzie that i wanted to quit my job and go do this crazy thing that probably
wouldn't work since most startups don't and i wasn't sure what would happen after that
mackenzie also a princeton grad and sitting here in the second row told me i should go for it
as a young boy i'd been a garage inventor i'd invented an automatic gate closer out of
cement-filled tires a solar cooker didn't work very well out of an umbrella and aluminum foil
baking pan alarms to entrap my siblings
i'd always wanted to be an inventor and she wanted me to follow my passion
i was working at a financial firm in new york city with a bunch of very smart people
and i had a brilliant boss i much admired i went to my boss and told him i was going to
start a company selling books on the internet he took me on a long walk in central park
carefully to me and finally said that sounds like a really good idea but it would be an even
better idea for someone who didn't already have a good job that logic made some sense
to me and he convinced me to think about it for 48 hours before making the final decision
seen in that light it really was a difficult choice
but ultimately i decided i had to give it a shot i didn't think i'd regret trying and failing
and i suspected i would always be haunted by a decision to not try at all
after much consideration i took the less safe path to follow my passion and i'm proud of that choice
tomorrow in a very real sense your life the life you offer from scratch on your own begins
how will you use your gifts what choices will you make will inertia be your guide
or will you follow your passions will you follow dogma or will you be original
will you choose a life of ease or a life of service and adventure
will you wilt under criticism or will you follow your convictions
will you bluff it out when you're wrong or will you apologize
will you guard your heart against rejection where you act
when you fall in love you play it safe will you be a little bit swashbuckled
when it's tough will you give up or will you be relentless.